Spot lamp



July l0, 1945. G. E. GRAVENSTINE S P OTLAMP Filed Feb. 19, 1942lNvkENToR M BY ATTORN EY5 Patented July 10, 1945 SPOT LAMP George E.Gravenstine, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to I The S. H. Thomson ManufacturingCompany, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application February 419,1942, Serial No, 431,543`

3 Claims.

trol members so that the light beam may be directed or controlled fromwithin the vehicle.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a spotlamp which isparticularly adapted for use on a tank or other vehicle where it may beimportant to carry the lamp itself within the vehicle when it is notactually in use, thev lamp construction embodying a lamp housingtogether with carrying and -controlling parts constituting oneassemblage which can be readily removed from and attached to anotherassemblage whichis fixed to the wall of the vehicle and incorporatescontrollable parts for controlling the direction of the beam of lightfrom within the vehicle.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawing,

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, and showing a lampembodying the present inventionx Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of theremovable lamp assemblage; and

Fig. 3 is a central vertical section showing the supporting part of thelamp structure.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, in which the same referencenumeralsv have been used t0 designate like parts vin the several views,the device, as shown, incorporates a spotlamp having provision formoving the lamp housing about a plurality of axes so that the directionof the beam can be readily controlled. The lamp housing is supported onya wall portion cfa tank or other vehicle where it may be 'important toremove it, so it may be carried in a safe place within the vehicle whenit is not needed for use. The construction is such that the lamp housingmay be very quickly and easily attached in its operative positionandnconnected to the operating controls which extend into the tank andwhich provide for control of the direction of the light beam, ln use.

(C'l. JA10-,6113) The lamp housing preferably includes a sheet metalbody II which supports a reflector I2 and a suitable lens I3. Thereflector carries a lamp socket I4 in which the light bulb I5 is mountedand a focusing device I6, operated by an adjusting screw I'I permitsaxial adjustment of the position of the lampr bulb so that the beams oflight projected from the reflector will be properly focused.

The sheet metal body member is secured as by means of screws I9 to arecessed yoke member 20, preferably a metal casting, forming part of thelamp housing. This yoke member affords a recess 2I extending up into thehousing. A rotatable mounting member 23, which also serves as a gearhousing, extends up into this recess and is mounted for rotation aboutits own axis as will bedescribed, and carries the lamp housing with it.With the axis of the mounting member 23 vertically arranged, as shown,the turning movements of this mounting member will cause horizontalswinging of the beam of light projected from the reflector. The upperend of the mounting member 23 is pinned or otherwise fixed to ahorizontally extending shaft 24 which projects out from the mountingmember at its opposite ends. .At one end it is journaled in the yokemeinber as shown at the left in Fig. 2, and at its other end it isrotatably journaled in a nut 24a which is threaded in the yoke memberand fixed to the yoke member by means of a pin 24h. Carried by a reducedportion of shaft 24 at the right-hand side thereof in Fig. 2 is abeveled gear 25 operated by pinion 26 fixed on the upper end of a rod21.- The gear 25 is free to rotate on the shaft 24, being held in placethereon by the shoulder formed by the reduced shaft portion, and isinterlocked or fastened to the nut 24a`so that when the gear 25 isrotated by the pinion 26, the yoke member is turned. A nut 24e threadedon the end of the .shaft 24 bears against a spring washer 24d so as vltwill thus be clear that as the rod 21 isturned.

the housing is adjusted about the longitudinal axis of the shaft 24, andas the mounting member is turned, it turns the housing member about anupright axis.

The rod 2'I is rotatable within a sleeve 28 which has external threads29 at its upper portion,'en

gaging threads in the mounting member 23, and a set screw holds thesetwo parts in secured position with respect to one another. By turningthe sleeve 28, the lamp housing is rotated about its vertical axis.

The lamp bulb is supplied with electric current through a connection 32which extends out from the lamp housing and which is provided with Iaconnection plug 33 by means of which it may be readily connected to asuitable current supply socket.

The parts described provide a lamp assemblage.;

the upper bearing member, and the sleeve 28 is clutched to the sleevesection 45 when the lamp housing is placed in position, the connectionbetween the rod portions and between the sleeve portions beingeffectedas an incident to the mounting of the upper removable portion of thedevice. The connection between the rod portions and the connectionbetween the sleeve portions is below the top of the bearing member 3B sothat the rod section 44 and sleeve section 45 are protected within thebearing member when A'fthe detachable lamp assemblage is removed.

to gether with operated members, which may be A,

` "set screw 43 to a rotatable collar 49v which is readily connected toand detached from a support which is arranged permanently inv positionon the tank or vehicle.

This support, which has;

been shown in Fig. 3, is arranged on the wall portion 34 of the vehicle,`this vwall portion, as shown, being a substantially horizontallyextending plate of armor which is at a convenient loca 'tion in front ofthe operator of the tank so that similarly secured to the outerY surfaceof the Wall portion, these two bearing members having axial passagesaligned with a hole or passage 3l, of rather small diameter, extendingthrough the wall portion. The upper bearing member 36 is provided withbearing surfaces 38 and` 39 cooperating with corresponding'bearingsurfaces provided on the lower end of mounting member 23, and providingfor rotational movements of the mounting member 23 about its own axis,when positioned on' "the bearing member in the manner shown in Fig. 1.In this position, the mounting member 23 is held against upward movementVwith respect to the bearngmember, by

, The sleeve section is secured by means of 'a permitting its rotationunder the control of the operator. The lower end of the sleeve projectsldownwardly from the lower end of the bearing member and carries a handknob- 5|, which is xed to the 'sleeve by means of a suitable s et screw52. The lower end -of the sleeve has an inwardly extending annular rib53 which'engages member 35, and an upper bearing member 36 is a shoulder54 on the rod section 44, thus holding the rod section against downwardmovement while permitting its free rotation inside the sleeve. The lowerend of the rod section y44 projects down beyond the end of the sleeve,and is secured by means of a set screw 55 to a hand knob 55. The twohand knobs, which are of generally hemispherical form and arranged closeto one another, may be controlled one at a time or simultaneously, bythe hand ofthe operator,

to rotate either the sleeve or the rod or both.

A frictional restraint is imposed on the rotation of the. sleeve section45 so that under ordinary conditions of use, the mounting member 23`will be yieldingly held in any position tovwhich it is means of a latch4Q pivotally carried cna pivot f pin 4| which is arranged in a boss onthe mounting member. The latch 40 has a latchingprojection 40a whichengages under the flange 40h of the bearing member. between a pair. ofstop arms 40o and 40d which are xed parts of the mounting member 23. Thestop arm d limits upward travel of ,the` latch 40. This upward movementof. the latch, however, can take place so as to free the latchingprojection. 40a from under the flange 4Gb, by manual movement of thelatch against the action of a spring 41a which engages at one endagainst the arm 40d and 4at the other end against' a recessed portion ofthe latch 4U.l 'The spring therefore serves toyieldingly hold the latchin its down or latching position, and the weight of the latch itself isalso eiective to do the same. The latch can be instantly operatedhowever to permit upward withdrawal of the mounting member 23 when it isdesired to take ofi the .detachable assemblage so that it may be carriedvin a safe place within the vehicle.

The lower ends of 4the rod 2l andof the sleeve 28 are'notched or slottedaxially so they may interengage respectively with lower rod and sleevemembers 44'and 45, which have complementary notches or slots at theirupper ends as indicated at 46. The rod21 is thus clutched to the rodsection 44 when -the lamp housing is placed. on

The latch 4i) operates i' adjusted. For this purpose, the lower end ofthe lower bearing'member 35 is provided with several longitudinallyextending slots 58 affordingsome contraction andexpansion movements of...the lower end portions of this bearing member. The bearing member atits lower end, also has a tapering form and is provided with screwthreads 59 which are engaged by an adjusting nut 60. .By turning` theadjusting nut 60 in one direction'or the other, the lower end of thebearing-member is contracted. or expanded. to apply the correct amountof frictional restraint so that the direc.- tion in a horizontal planein which the .beam is directed will be maintained except as the operatorchanges this direction by turning the knob. 5|.. A setscrew 6I holdsthenut-6U in any position of adjustment.

AThe` diameter` of the hole ,3l which extends through the armor plate orother wall portion on which the lamp may be mounted, may becomparatively small as it is only enough greater` in diameter than thesleeve section 45 to allow suit'- able clearance, so yas not to destroythe strength of the wall structure. v L

The plug 33 through which an electric current is supplied to the lampbulb is adapted for ccnnection to a socket 63 into which the plug may beinserted. The socket 53' is xed at' a suitable location near the bearing.member on the `outer surface of the Wall structure 34'and is connectedby means of a cable 64 which passes through a hole 55, in the Wallportion, toa suitable control switch 66 arranged within the ,vehiclewhere it may be conveniently operated. As will be. apparent, the plug 33can be instantlyvre.- moved from the socket 63 when the detachable lampassembly is removed from its supporting means.

The ,lamp housing l I may also have a handle 68 fixed directly `thereonso that the direction of the light beam can be controlled by theoperator who may reach out from the tank and move the lamp housingdirectly.

When the detachable lamp assemblage is removed the upper end of theybearing member 35 is closed by means of a suitable plug 69 which isheld to the bearing member by a chain lll. The plug has a threadedportion 'Il engageable with the threads 'l2 on the bearing member. Whenin position the top bearing surface of the bearing member is covered andthe parts below the top of the bearing member are protected from dust,sand, etc. y

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferredembodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes maybe made therein without departing from the scope of the invention whichis deined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A device of the character described comprising outer and innerbearing parts adapted to be secured respectivelyto the outer and innersurfaces of a vehicle wall, a substantially vertically extending sleeverotatably carried by said bearing parts, a rod rotatable in said sleeve,the outer ends of said rod and sleeve terminating within said outerbearing part, closely adjacent handles attached respectively' to the rodand the sleeve for operating them independently from within the vehicle,a lamp housing, a mounting member pivotally supporting said housing formovement about a substantiallyr horizontal axis, said mounting memberbeing normally rotatably carried by said outer hearing part for movementabout a substantially vertical axis, mechanism in said mountingmemberfor pivotally moving the housing on said mounting member andhaving an interfitting clutch connection to said rod, v

means connected to said mounting member and having an interlockingclutch connection with said sleeve, a manually operable latch means fornormally retaining said mounting member in op erative relation upon saidouter bearing part and manually releasable to provide for completeseparationthereof, and detachable means for supplying electric currentto said lamp housing, the lamp housing together with mounting memberbeing instantaneously detachable and removable from the bearing partsand the rod and sleeve.

2. In a vehicle having a housing wall portion provided with an opening,outer and'inner bearing parts secured to the outer and inner surfacesrespectively of the wall portion, a sleeve rotatably ca'rried by thebearing parts, a rod rotatable in the sleeve, said rod and said sleeveprojecting inwardly beyond the inner bearing part and terminating withinthe outer bearing part to be protected thereby, individual controlmembers for operating the rod and the sleeve from within the vehicle, alamp housing, a rotatable mounting member on which the housing ispivotally supported, mechanism in said mounting member for pivotallymoving the housing with respect to the mounting member, a readilyattachable and detachable clutch connection between the mounting memberand the sleeve, a readily attachable and detachable clutch connectionbetween said mechanism and said rod, and manually releasable latch meansfor normally retaining said mounting member in operative relation uponsaid bearing part and providing manual release for complete separationof said parts.

3. In a vehicle having a thick metal substantially horizontal Wallportion provided with a substantially vertical passage, upper and lowerbearing parts fixed to the wall portion at the outer and inner surfacesrespectively of the Wall portion, a sleeve rotatably carried by thebearing parts, a rod rotatable in the sleeve, individual control membersfor operating the rod and the sleeve from within the vehicle, a lamphousing, a rotatable mounting member on which the housing is pivotallysupported for movement about a substantially horizontal axis, mechanismin said mounting member for pivotally moving the housing on the mountingmember, said lamp housing mounting member and mechanism constituting alamp assemblage which is readily attachable and detachable with respectto the bearing parts, the sleeve and the rod, a readily attachable anddetachable clutch connection between the mounting member and the sleeve,a readily attachable and detachable clutch connection between saidmechanism and, said rod, manually releasable latch means carried by saidmounting member and engageable with said upper bearing part to retainsaid parts in assembled relation while providing for complete separationthereof when manually released, an electrical supply socket carried bysaid wall portion and accessible from the outer side thereof, aconnection plug detachably connected to said socket, an electricalconnection from said plug to the lamp housing, and a closure memberhaving a connection to said upper bearing part and operable to cover thetop of the upper bearing part when the lamp assemblage is removed.

GEORGE E. GRAVENSTINE.

